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Forty citizens who helped the Police fight crime were commended at the Good Citizen Award (GCA) Presentation Ceremony today (June 15).
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Police Director of Management Services Mr Tang How-kong noted that, according to the results of a public opinion survey conducted by the Hong Kong University last year, 95 per cent and 76 per cent of respondents felt Hong Kong safe during daytime and night-time respectively, adding that both ratings were the highest scores since 1999.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong was also ranked the first among 66 countries/regions for public order and safety in the "Rule of Law Index 2011" published by World Justice Project based in the United States, he said.
Mr Tang said the partnership of the Police and the community was one of the attributes to the satisfactory results. While commending the awardees for their courage and alertness, he urged members of the public to remain vigilant and join hands with the Police to fight crime.
Noting that GCA had been launched for 39 years, the Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC), Mr Stephen Ng, said at the ceremony that the Chamber provides full sponsorship on cash awards to the scheme, hoping to promote the spirit of courage and to make Hong Kong a better place to live and work in.
The member of the Fight Crime Committee, Mr Kwok Wing-keung, also agreed that the scheme was widely supported by the public. He said an increase in members of the public taking the initiative to report crimes and assist the police in investigation had proven the success of the scheme in maintaining a stable and safe society with the Police-community cooperation.
With the help of today¡¦s awardees ¡V 30 men and 10 women ¡V more than 40 persons were arrested for a variety of offences including telephone deception, theft, burglary, robbery, wounding and indecent assault. Each of them received a certificate and a cheque of $2,000.
Four awardees, Mr Wong Chung-kwan, Ms Liu Siu-ping, Mr Lui Siu-po and Ms Wong Kwan-kwan, helped the Police arrest five swindlers involved in four telephone deception cases.
They all received telephone calls from swindlers who claimed to have detained their sons and demanded for a ransom. When they found that the call was a scam, they reported the cases to the Police, and follow the swindlers' instructions to put the money at a particular place. Five men were arrested when they picked up the money. They were later sentenced to imprisonment ranging from two years to four years and five months.
Another awardee, a taxi driver Mr Li Kwong-chung, reminded a female passenger to ascertain the safety of her daughter when he overheard the conversation between the passenger and a swindler. The woman avoided suffering a loss of money due to Mr Li's alertness.
Presented twice a year, the Award is organised by the Police Public Relations Branch and sponsored by the HKGCC. More than 3 800 persons have been commended over the years.
During the ceremony, a new TV Announcement in the Public Interest (API) to remind people to beware of online business fraud was premiered to launch the Fight Crime Publicity Campaign 2012-13.
The TV API with Cantonese and English versions, and its corresponding radio API with Cantonese, Putonghua and English versions will be broadcast on local TV and radio stations starting tonight, calling on the public to stay alert and not to give fraudsters a chance.
Police Report No. 242
Ends/Friday, June 15, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:20
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